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| The Voyager in its Original Livery at Penzance Train Station |
The Class 220 and 221 trains were introduced in 2001 for commercial service (Class 222 was the improved version of the Class 220 introduced in 2004). The main difference between the Class 220 and 221 is that Class 221 Super Voyagers are fitted with tilting bogies that enable them to tilt up to 6 degrees in curves. The non-tilting Class 220 and 222 feature a lightweight bogie design. Each carriage of these DEMUs carries a 560 kilowatt (750 horsepower) Cummins diesel engine connected to a generator powering an electric motor on an axle on each bogie (2 axles per bogie). Class 220 trainsets consist of 4 cars, the Class 221 trainsets consist of 4 or 5 cars, and they can be coupled together in operation. The top speed of the Voyager trains in service is 200 km/h (125 mph) and they have much higher acceleration than conventional locomotive-trailer or push-pull trains.
Although the Voyager trains are constructed with steel, due to the nature of multiple units, they are very light and have even weight distribution on the rails (each carriage in a multiple unit weighs more or less the same). Each car of the Class 220 weighs 45 to 48 tonnes (50 to 53 short tons) and 55 to 57 tonnes (60 to 63 short tons) for Class 221. In the British Rail Route Availability rating system (scale 1 to 10, 1 being the lightest in axle load and affected the least by track conditions), the Class 220 achieved a rating of RA2 (RA3 up to 16.5 tonnes per axle) while Class 221 had a rating of RA4 (RA5 up to 19.0 tonnes per axle). The typical range per fuelling of the Class 220 and 222 is 2,170 km (1,350 miles) and 1,930 km (1,200 miles) for the Class 221.
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| The Voyager in its current livery |